One week in Uruguay: a multi-city route
Montevideo on foot, Colonia's cobblestones, and the beach finish at Punta del Este, with buses doing the connecting.
Photo by Nikolai Kolosov on Unsplash
Interactive map of the route. The full stop list below works without it.
About 430 km as the crow flies
How do you spend a week in Uruguay?
This week runs west, then east: Montevideo first for the city walks, Colonia del Sacramento next on the river, and Punta del Este to finish at the beach. Buses do the connecting, so you can leave the car at home; plan around the Colonia del Sacramento to Punta del Este transfer, which routes back through Montevideo's Tres Cruces terminal. Book the ferry and the long legs ahead in summer, and keep your mornings for walking.
- Days 1 to 3
Montevideo
Avenues, drums, and the rambla
Montevideo is the capital and the walking core of the trip, and Wayside's routes here cover it. The Avenida 18 de Julio walk reads the 1920s and 1930s towers between the Edificio Lapido and the Palacio Díaz and ends at the free 22nd-floor lookout of the Palacio Municipal. The old-town route goes from Plaza Independencia down Peatonal Sarandí, past the Teatro Solís, Plaza Matriz and the Cabildo, to lunch at the Mercado del Puerto. The rambla walk ends at the Punta Carretas lighthouse, and the Barrio Sur loop traces candombe from the Conventillo Mediomundo site to the waterfront. Base yourself in Centro or Ciudad Vieja, and save a Sunday for the drums.
- TransitBuses to Colonia del Sacramento leave Montevideo's Tres Cruces terminal through the day, take about two and a half to three hours, and cost roughly 700 to 900 pesos one way; COT and Turil run the route.SourceUruguay Tourism, 7 Days in Uruguay (2026)
- Getting thereCarrasco airport sits 30 to 40 minutes from central Montevideo, so leave buffer time on arrival and departure days.SourceUruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)
Montevideo one-day itineraryMontevideo walking tours
Next leg · 158.8 km
- Days 4 to 5
Colonia del Sacramento
Wayside tour coming soonCobblestones and river light
Colonia del Sacramento is the 1680 Portuguese smuggling port on the Río de la Plata, and its Barrio Histórico is a UNESCO World Heritage site that takes a few hours to walk. The Calle de los Suspiros, the Portón de Campo drawbridge, the lighthouse and Plaza Mayor 25 de Mayo sit inside the old lines, with the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento, the country's oldest church, and several small museums in the quiet corners. The ferry terminal is a short walk from the cobbles, and a night here gets you the town after the day-trippers leave. A Wayside tour is coming soon.
- TransitBuquebus and Colonia Express cross from Colonia del Sacramento to Buenos Aires in about an hour and a quarter, with roughly seven sailings a day and one-way fares from around $50 to $65; book two to three weeks ahead in summer.SourceBusbud, Colonia del Sacramento to Buenos Aires ferry (2026)Uruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)
- Getting thereThere is no frequent direct bus from Colonia del Sacramento to Punta del Este; the standard route runs back through Montevideo's Tres Cruces terminal and takes five to six hours door to door.SourceUruguay Tourism, 7 Days in Uruguay (2026)
Next leg · 271 km
- Days 6 to 8
Punta del Este
Wayside tour coming soonThe beach finish
Punta del Este is where the Río de la Plata turns into the Atlantic, a peninsula with calm Playa Mansa on one side and the surf of Playa Brava on the other, where La Mano, the giant hand sculpture, rises out of the sand. Gorlero Avenue and the marina handle the strolling and the eating, and Casapueblo, the white cliffside house and studio built by the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró, sits west in Punta Ballena and is best at sunset. Isla Gorriti offshore has beaches and a nature reserve reachable by ferry. The week finishes here, with buses back to Montevideo when you're done. A Wayside tour is coming soon.
- TransitCOT and COPSA buses run between Punta del Este and Montevideo in about two hours, for roughly 400 to 500 pesos one way.SourceUruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)Essential Nomad, One Week Uruguay Travel Itinerary
- Casapueblo, the white cliffside house and studio built by artist Carlos Páez Vilaró, is about 15 minutes west of Punta del Este in Punta Ballena and is best saved for sunset.SourceUruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)Buquebus, Colonia del Sacramento destination guide
Less time?
If you have five nights, cut Punta del Este and give Montevideo three and Colonia del Sacramento two; with four nights, two and two still covers the capital's walking tours and the old town. The ferry to Buenos Aires works as an exit either way.
Planning your route
Should I book buses and ferries in advance?
Ferry and bus tickets are worth booking ahead in summer: intercity buses about a day out at Tres Cruces or online, and Colonia to Buenos Aires crossings two to three weeks ahead, when January sailings sell out and last-minute fares climb.
SourceUruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)Busbud, Colonia del Sacramento to Buenos Aires ferry (2026)Do I need a car for this route?
No car is needed for this route: COT, COPSA and Rutas del Sol buses connect every stop, and the week is doable entirely by bus. A rental makes more sense on longer trips, for the wine country or the coast east of José Ignacio.
SourceUruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)Can I add Buenos Aires to this trip?
Buenos Aires is an easy add from Colonia del Sacramento: Buquebus and Colonia Express run the crossing in about an hour and a quarter, with roughly seven sailings a day and one-way fares from around $50 to $65. Immigration is done at the terminal, so arrive an hour early in peak season.
SourceBusbud, Colonia del Sacramento to Buenos Aires ferry (2026)Dicas da Argentina, Buquebus to Colonia guide (2026)How do I handle the transfer from Colonia del Sacramento to Punta del Este?
The Colonia del Sacramento to Punta del Este transfer has no frequent direct bus, so plan to route back through Montevideo's Tres Cruces terminal: five to six hours door to door, including the connection. Renting a car for that day is the alternative, and it lets you take the coastal road with a stop in Piriápolis.
SourceUruguay Tourism, 7 Days in Uruguay (2026)More of Uruguay
- Walking toursWalking tours in UruguayUruguay is the second-smallest country in South America, a wedge of rolling grassland between Argentina and Brazil where cattle outnumber people several times over and nearly half the population lives in Montevideo. The capital spreads along the Río de la Plata behind a long coastal rambla, where people walk at sunset with a mate gourd in one hand and a thermos tucked under the other arm. West of it, Colonia del Sacramento keeps the cobbles and the lighthouse of a town founded in 1680 by the Portuguese; east, Punta del Este puts calm river beaches on one side and Atlantic surf on the other. Inland lie working cattle estancias, gauchos and slow country towns. Meals run to wood-fired asado and the chivito sandwich, and the culture to candombe, the Afro-Uruguayan drumming UNESCO listed in 2009, still played through Montevideo's Barrio Sur on Sunday evenings.
- Know before you goUruguay essentialsThe national essentials for Uruguay: entry rules, ferries and buses, pesos and VAT refunds, plugs, holidays, and when to head for the coast.
Do it yourself
Follow it in the app
Get the Wayside app before you fly and walk Montevideo with the tours in your pocket.
Provenance · last verified September 27, 2026
Researched and routed by Wayside, with inter-city detail checked against the source.
SourcesUruguay Tourism, 3 Days to 2 Weeks (2026 Guide)Ministerio del Interior, Régimen de visas de admisiónMinisterio de Relaciones Exteriores, Visas para ingresar a UruguayIndiautentica, Uruguay one-week itineraryBusbud, Colonia del Sacramento to Buenos Aires ferry (2026)Tres Cruces Shopping y TerminalUruguay Tourism, 7 Days in Uruguay (2026)Essential Nomad, One Week Uruguay Travel ItineraryBuquebus, Colonia del Sacramento destination guide
Photo by Nikolai Kolosov on Unsplash